Tombs and Talons
by Daggers hurt
Summary: There is a death, a body found trapped in 5,000 year old tomb, but the body is new,as are the markings on the wall. Another Robert Lngdon fiction, also staring Sophie Neveu...and Vittoria Vetra. However not for long...
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Alexander Stuart put up no resistance as the two men bundled him bound and gagged from the black Land Rover. He couldn't have even if he had wanted to, he would be sixty-six on his next birthday, a birthday he would probably never reach, and his arthritis riddled joints were far too weak to protest and so he allowed himself to be dragged across the uneven field towards a grassy mound in the distance. To anybody this hummock wouldn't have gained a second glance, but Alexander was an archaeologist and he knew exactly what lay beneath. He was on mainland Orkney or _'Meginland'_ as the Norse settlers would have called it, one of the seventy islands that made up the section at most northerly tip of Scotland where the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet. The island was originally referred to as 'Hrossey' the Horse Island but when the Vikings left so did the name only to be discovered later in the ancient maps of the Norsemen. Ahead of him, silhouetted in the winter sun was MaesHowe the largest and most impressive cairn in the whole of the British Isles if not the world. The tomb dated back from about 2700BC and despite it not being accessible to the public it had been visited many times by Alexander, he had been intrigued ever since he had been a twenty-two year old student archaeologist, standing inside the tomb for the first time. Back then he had been young, an adventurer on a quest for knowledge but it had done him no good, it was ironic that the place that had made Alexander love life was also to be the place that it would be snatched from him. Yet even in his last moments the archaeologist couldn't help but think about the wonders the tomb held, the ancient runes and famous Maeshowe dragon left by Vikings.

The fact that the cairn in front of him, the cairn people walked past each day without realising what it was, is actually older than the Great Pyramid of Giza, the gigantic stone structure near the ancient city of Memphis, which serves as a tomb for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The questions hidden inside the stone structure that could never be answered for certain;

How had the Neolithic people created such an awe-inspiring tomb? With its large ceiling of steps leading directly to heaven, or as some argued the sun. The Neolithic people had built the tomb as a tribute to sun. As the dying light of the sun around the midwinter solstice slips below the horizon, the last rays of light would shine directly through Maeshowe's entrance passage to strike the rear wall of the central chamber.

What had the three _cells_, I set into each, wall apart from the one with the entrance tunnel, been used for? Had it been to store the bodies or bones of their dead ancestors? If so why did they have huge stones that would take the power of four men to lift? Stones that fitted perfectly into the entrance of the cells and could only be removed from the outside? If the people were dead why would they need to be locked in? It's highly unlikely that in Neolithic times people would believe in zombies. It posed the question that maybe the bodies kept in the tomb were not dead. Maybe human sacrifices to the pagan Gods.

Why, if the purpose of the tomb was the storage of dead bodies, had no remains been found? Even though Vikings had invaded the tomb later why would they have stolen bones, they would be of no value to them and they would not have the carted them far even if they had been moved. They would have been found when archaeologists had excavated the site. What if Maeshowe had not been meant as a final resting place, but more of just a temporary burial site?

Alexander would have pondered for longer if he had been prodded roughly in the back and ordered to move forward. They were about to enter the entrance tunnel that separated the chamber from the outside world. Again many theories had been thought of as to why the tunnel had been built so low. Was it to make the tomb less accessible by those outside; both physically and visually? Is it to make you bow down to the Gods, excepting that you as a mere mortal were of a lower status then them? Or were the builders smarter than we credit them for, were you made to practically crawl along on your knees in the semi-darkness as a defence system? The endless current of questions raging like a rapid through Alexander's mind at least served one good purpose, they acted as a distraction. The old man knew his time was almost up and allowed himself to be pushed onto his hands and knees as the men set about removing the heavy stone from where it had been wedged into the main wall sealing the cell.

Only one man stayed watching over their prisoner and although he kept his gun, an AK-47, trained on him he wasn't really paying attention. He was an old man for God's sake! What was he going to do? Both his hands and feet were tied and he hadn't put up any resistance since they had taken him. Instead he stood, studying the famous runes that had been carved onto the walls by Vikings when they had invaded the cairn. He didn't notice as Alexander closed his fist around one of the stones that littered the sandy floor. He was careful as he chose his stone making sure not to pick sandstone, then sorting through the rocks as best he could without attracting any attention he found the sharpest stone there was. He did not need it as a weapon; he had long ago resigned himself to death. He had another use in mind for his stone.

The men had finally dislodged the heavy _boulder_ from its place, and were carefully lowering it the eighty centimetres onto the floor. As they crossed over towards Alexander he knew what was coming next. Two of the men hauled him roughly onto his feet as the other two stripped him of his final piece of dignity. Naked and cold, Alexander Stuart allowed himself to be pushed forcefully into main cell, feeling strangely peaceful as the wedge was replaced into the wall. He was trapped now with no food or water, it was winter and if it had been light enough he would have seen his breath cloud in front of him. But he couldn't. He had bee plunged into a pitch blackness so deep that even when he held his hand centimetres from his eyes he could not see it. However, the darkness didn't bother Alexander. He could still feel the rock sticking into his tightly clasped hands, now the stone was all that mattered!

It was funny he thought how as a child, and even as a man, Alexander had feared death. Unlike most people he had not feared the pain often associated with death but the loss. The loss of life meant a lot more than just the physical aspects, he would lose his family, his friends, his freedom. He could no longer walk along his path of knowledge; no more would he be able to ponder the endless questions of the universe. But now as he sat in the darkness, he heard the Lord calling him, beckoning to follow him into the next world, he knew that he would have all the time in the world to think and learn and yet he could not let go of life yet. He had something to do first. He rubbed his hand across the rough surface of his stone.

_Alexander Stuart was going to leave his mark!_

**A/N Thank you for reading! This is my first Dan Brown story and was inspired by my recent holiday to Orkney. Please review it as it would be useful to get some feedback and I am a review addict. Thanks again.**

**Hope.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One**

**A well deserved holiday**

Robert Langdon let the cool water flow over him, grinning as he remembered the pride in the Hotel managers voice as he had informed Robert that all his rooms were equipped with 'power showers'. _This is what I needed! _Robert had had an eventful couple of years, what with the fiasco in Rome and becoming a wanted criminal in Paris. This holiday up in the Orkneys was a welcome break and the perfect time to put the plan he had been nursing for the past three months into action. Robert stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist, just as a slim, well tanned woman slunk into the bathroom her silk dressing gown hanging lose around her shoulders. "So where are you taking me today?" Sophie Neveu asked.

"I thought we might go out to lunch."

"What isn't the food here good enough for you?" She laughed. They were staying in the only four star hotel on the Orkney, in fact to be precise the _only_ hotel on the island at all.

"I thought you might like to go somewhere special!"

"Can I take your jacket, sir?" Asked the waiter.

Robert Langdon held out his coat for the waiter to take and subtlety pushed a box into his hand as Sophie looked away, mouthing something that ended with "Champagne" The waiter nodded in assent and took the coat to the stand, slipping the small leather box into his apron pocket before turning round and leading the couple to a secluded table next to the window. Finally Robert could sense things coming together, he and Sophie had been living together for 18 months now, and so he had decided now was the time to make there relationship official. He had brought the ring three weeks ago and had attempted to propose twelve times so far chickening out each time. He hadn't managed to get past the kneeling so far, last time he had been looking for the ring, just about to pop the question when he realised he was wearing somebody else's jacket. Fortunately, as soon as the man with his jacket realised it wasn't his he sent it straight back to Robert, the ring still snuggled safely in the pocket.

But this time, Robert couldn't back out. He had given the waiter the ring, ordered the champagne. Hopefully, in a minute he would be sat opposite his fiancée instead of his girlfriend. It would make his parents happy, his mother, especially had asked him each time they had spoken if he'd "Got himself a young lass yet?" But that wasn't why he was proposing, he loved Sophie. The way she smiled, eyes glinting! Everything they had gone through in Paris had only brought them closer. Their second meeting at the Brunelleschi Hotel in Florence, had been excellent but then they had split up and gone there own ways, and yet neither of them had been happy; spending all the time apart thinking about each other, and so they had both decided to ring each other. Since then they had not parted, Sophie had moved in to Robert's, slightly cramped, apartment. The last eighteen months had been the best in Robert's life, a life that unknown to him was about to get a lot worse…

BRING, BRING…

Robert's phone buzzed in his pocket, he pulled it out and glanced at the caller identification screen. Number Unknown. That was funny, one of his students ad put all his phone numbers into the address book for him, there was known who he had given his number to apart from his friends, students and some of his colleagues. He put the phone back in his pocket expecting it to stop ringing, he didn't want anything ruining tonight, but it didn't. He yanked the phone back out of his pocket pulling it open.

"Robert Langdon, who is this?"

"This is detective superintendent Riley"

_Great! Well, there goes my relaxing holiday!_

When the waiter returned, a large champagne bucket cradled in his arms, he was shocked to find that the man and his partner had disappeared. They had left the table in a mess, the chairs pushed back and napkins screwed up on the floor. It was obvious to the waiter that the couple had left in a hurry. _Was it some kind of wind up?_ He cast a quick glance around looking for any cameras and then he suddenly thought the ring! He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the leather box, opening it roughly expecting to find a message telling him how stupid he had been; but no, the ring was there and it was most definitely real! _Why would he just run off, the ring must have cost a bomb? _He looked around surreptitiously making sure no-one was looking his way, and then placed the ring into his trouser pocket. It would bring in some money.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two**

Robert stood in shocked silence as DS Riley lead him into the narrow passage way. Sunlight flooded the tunnel, brilliant and glowing despite it being almost winter. Sophie followed him, slightly disgruntled that they had been dragged away from their meal but not angry, she was too intrigued. She had read all about Maes Howe in a National Geographic Magazine. It wasn't her normal reading but she had seen it in a charity shop and had been entranced by the picture on the front. That article was one of the reasons they had come to the Orkneys for a holiday. She was even more amazed as she stepped out into the central chamber. To think that the 'temple' had been built over 5,000 years ago was awe-inspiring and yet Robert was stood in front of her, looking like he had seen a ghost.

"Vittoria" Robert whispered, the words hardly coming out of his mouth. Vittoria Vetra stood next to a police officer her golden legs clearly visible underneath her trademark khaki shorts. _What was she doing her? Why wasn't she in Italy?_

"Hello, Robert! I didn't expect to have to wait this long before you got in touch!" She smiled, her white teeth sparkling in the winter sun still pouring through the tunnel. "I suppose Kurtis called you in, symbols being your speciality. It's an odd case this one, the tombs been pretty much untouched for over a hundred years and yet I couldn't find any sign that anybody had been in here recently, except in there!" As she finished she pointed to the cell set back into the wall in front of them. A rock lay cracked on half in the floor, obviously forced out of wall. But more disturbing was the sight inside…

All thoughts of Vittoria and what she was doing there left him as he looked at the body, naked and bent double in the confined space. His hands were tied together and his fingertips were covered in blood, his nails ragged and his skin torn and yet he still held a small stone, no larger than an orange pip, clenched in his hand. The walls left no question as to what the stone was for. Scratched into the rock were millions of symbols some easily recognisable, letters, numbers, religious shapes and yet others not so clear. Nestled among the markings were ancient runes, Egyptian hieroglyphics, each of them scraped onto the stone in no set pattern. No lines just hundreds, maybe millions, of meaningless symbols.

"Well, what do you think Mr Langdon?" It was the first time DS Kurtis Riley had spoken since he had called Robert earlier.

"I don't know what it means! Any of it! I mean, of course I recognize this on but it means nothing!""

He pointed to a symbol in the shape of a rounded 'm' with a dot either side of the central line. "It was carved into a huge stone in Soto, Spain in the Neolithic times but no-one ever found its meaning, so why would he put it here."

"Maybe he knew what it meant? Maybe that is what he is trying to tell us?" It was the first time Sophie had spoken since they had entered the tomb and Vittoria turned to look at her.

"You're a bit dressed up to look at a dead body aren't you?" Victtoria asked looking down at Sophie's black evening.

"Me and Robert are supposed to be having a meal. I'm sorry I didn't catch your name?"

"Vittoria Vetra, I met Robert in Rome when he helped save the Vatican…I suppose your wondering what I'm doing in England aren't you? After my father died I couldn't go back to CERN so I decided to come here, I mean if you want to get away from things you couldn't be better off anywhere else! Anyway that's when I met Kurtis and got a job with the secret services at their headquarters on the island. Don't worry I haven't just let out a big secret, you'll have to sign a secrecy act soon enough, I think we'd like to keep this one a bit hush-hush."

_So that's how he knows here, no wonder he fell for her. _Robert had told Sophie about the women he had met in Rome when she had asked him about his previous relationships. She was pulled from her thoughts when Robert suddenly spun round.

"He doesn't wan to tell us what it means! Look at this symbol here, it means on the wings of a dove, I think he wants us to go there!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three**

Two hours later the four of them were sat stiffly round a table on a private jet. Vittoria and Sophie avoided each others eyes and Robert was off on another planet. He had several pictures of the engraved wall spread out in front of him, many with scribbled notes or circled symbols. Nothing made sense even now after he had looked at them properly, hopefully things would make more sense when they got to Spain.

"I'm missing something, there has got to be a link between Soto and Maes Howe I just can't see it! I need to know more about it."

"We could search for it on my lap-top; I fetched it out of the car just before we left." Sophie said leaning down to the side of her chair, and pulling up her lap-top bag.

"Yeah, good idea, love, but I doubt the internet will work your 30,000 feet above the ground!" Riley looked up at her grinning.

Sophie grinned back and turned to Robert "What is it you want to search for?" Robert looked perplexed for a bit before he answered "Soto, and try Huelva.It's around there think!" Sophie tapped away at the keys for a moment before leaning back, sighing contentedly.

"I think I might have found our match but I'm not sure about the significance of it!" She paused for a moment taking in the shocked expressions of the three people sat around the table. "Dolmen de Soto, a Neolithic monument very similar to Maes Howe. Built around the same winter Solstice."

"But…how did you find that out?"

"On the internet…It said you could get the internet if you plugged your USB lead into this very nice plug down here! It works on satellite signals." That wiped the smug grin off the Detective's face.

"When you two have finished do you think we could get on with solving this murder case!" It was the first time Vittoria had entered the conversation and everyone looked up at her, expecting her to point something extremely obvious to them. She never got the chance, the pilot's voice cam over the intercom. "We are preparing to land, please put your seatbelts on." They were going to land in a private runway, they had called in a flight plan but the idea had been that as few people knew where they were as possible and so the runway was hidden in an area outside of the big cities.

The landing went relatively smoothly but the greeting they got when they arrived was not. As soon as the engines had stopped whirring, twenty men dressed in full riot gear and armed with assault rifles span out to surround the planes only exit. "Policía, Open the door slowly and come out with your hands above you head!" The voice boomed from the megaphone and out across the open tarmac. Something hit Robert as not quite right with the men assembled outside but with twenty guns pointed at him he didn't dwell on it long! Slowly, Riley opened the door and stood with his hands in the air as the steps slid out automatically from underneath the plane. Riley was the first to come down the steps, followed by Robert, the two women and finally the pilot. "Stop right there and keep your hands up!" The voice erupted again. The group stopped and watched as the man with the speaker waved to some of the men surrounding them to move forward. Five men sprinted forward each running behind one of them. Within a minute all five of them, including the pilot, had been handcuffed, blindfolded and were sat in the back of a van with their ankles chained to the bench underneath them.

Robert felt the engine start up beneath him and listened as the doors slammed shut behind him and the slither of light that had peeped through his blindfold was extinguished. When he was sure they were on the move he whispered "Is everyone alright?" There were a number of grumbles and finally Victoria spoke.

"I don't know what's going on but they're not police, they were wearing Kevlar armour. No police force uses them any more, there was a project going on at CERN just before I left we had found a new polymer material stronger than Kevlar, we had just distributed it to Spain and I am sure they would have sent them to the SWAT teams first. I don't like this at all!"

The van had left the smooth roads now and moved onto a bumpy track. In the back the five of them bounced around, unable to steady themselves with their hands tied behind their backs. Eventually the van stopped. They had been driving for about an hour and three quarters of it had been on the uneven ground. Robert judged that they must have travelled quite a way from civilisation in that time. A lot of the area surrounding Soto was dry forest that in some places was almost desert; Robert guessed that they were probably in the middle of that now.

The door of the van opened and after a minute or two when Robert felt someone unchaining him from the bench, strong arms hauled him out of the van and dropped him to the dusty floor. He felt the sand underneath him and coughed as the dust entered his throat. But he was lucky, his blindfold slipped down a little bit and before he was dragged away he caught a glimpse of his surroundings. There were in an open space of desert, and in the distance he saw a line of trees. Nowhere could he see any sign of the city or any houses, other than a dirt track that lead to where the black van was parked along with five four wheel-drives, and just in his vision to the side a large worn down building, almost like a hangar but inside he could see several concrete walls all with sturdy metal doors. At one time this had been a prison but it had been long abandoned by the police. Whoever had got them where definitely not part of the law!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Four**

Robert gasped in agony as a steel capped boot thudded into his left kidney. "Put the others into cells; keep the handcuffs on though!" Robert looked up at the speaker as best he could. Although his blindfold was still down one of their captors had his foot on his back stopping him getting up. However it seemed as if no-one had noticed his slipped blindfold. He watched as the obvious leader instructed the men. Everything about him had a certain air of importance, his black hair was slicked back smoothly yet not with grease, his tanned skin; he wore the same uniform as the other men but his looked newer and was accompanied by a Rolex watch and crested signet ring. This man held a position of power, along with a very generous fortune. And then he turned round…

Robert's breath caught in his chest. Their eyes met and locked together. Robert knew exactly who this man was. With this new knowledge the renewed seriousness of their situation hit him like a ten ton truck. He was staring into the eyes of Prince Felipe, Prince of Asturias and heir apparent of the Crown of Spain. He had just been kidnapped by His Royal Highness Prince Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso y de la Santísima Trinidad y de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia. Try saying that in a hurry!

"Robert Langdon, I have heard much about you, especially your work within the famous vatican. Well I'm sure this will be another page to add to your life, if you have a life for much longer that is. I don't expect to live that long! Take him to one of the holding rooms." With that he strode off. Robert watched him until he dissapeared from view as he was dragged ointo a bare concrete cell with a single restraint chair in the centre. He hardly noticed as the guards man-handled him into the seat, clamping the restraints tightly around his ankles and wrists. Thoughts flashed through his head, entering and leaving before his head had time to process them.

And then the thoughts stopped. Robert felt the sharp prick as the neele sunk into his arm but was helpless. It was if he had been pushed out of his own body and was observing it from up above. He watched as his body went rigid, he could feel the chemicals spreading therough his body; freezing his blood, sloing eerything down. Until it stopped. Nothing moved. He watched as his body got further away, bluring. And then it was gone. He was alone; in a world of black.

_Maybe this was death? Robert couldn't be sure. _

**Authors note**- Sorry it is so short it is more of a taster than anything. I am a bit bogged down with school work at the moment (too much coursework) so I apologise and hope to update again soon. Please review as it maks me happy. Thank You!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Five**

He felt it warm in his grasp. Safe. His arm wrapped around her perfectly toned stomach. The thin sheets entangled him, stopped him from getting out of bed. That didn't matter, he wasn't going anywhere. He slipped back into a light sleep.

Today was the day. He was going to propose to Sophie today. He was really going to do it. He needed to book the table. He needed to get up but something was stopping him. He could still feel her body against him but it was cold. He tried pulling away but something held him tight: he couldn't move. Numb everywhere. H couldn't even open his eyes. And then slowly it came back. The blood started pushing its ay round his body. His fingers began to tingle. Robert blinked his eyes open…

His eye stopped. She lay there draped over him; her lifeless eyes open. staring at him. Her mouth forced into an eternal scream…

And the hole in her head still pouring blood. He felt t running own his own face as her head rolled against him. Robert was frozen. Tears choked him.

"Sophie?" Hardly audible.

"Welcome to reality Robert!" Prince Felipe grinned. "I'm sorry about this Robert. I would have liked to have killed you too but unfortunately the grim reapers filled his quota today. What with your little friends! She was a feisty one wasn't she? Shame about her really. I rather liked her!"

Robert felt the anger burn inside him. Growing. Sophie was dead. Vittoria too. And it was his fault! If he hadn't have got involved with either of them they would never have found themselves here. They would still be alive!

It was his fault!

He pushed Sophies body off him. Finally realising he was no longer restrained, he threw himself across the room at the guard by the door. The guard didn't have chance to move before Robert was on top of him. He tore the gun from his hand and stood up, swinging the gun around the room at the guard and then the Prince. "I'm so sorry Sophie!" And then he turned the gun on himself. He paused for a second as a single tear ran from his eye. His finger tightened around the trigger. And then Robert pulled the trigger.


	7. Chapter 7

Authors note- I apologise greatly for the lack of updates for this story and all my others but times are hard at the moment and exams and such like take up most of my waking thoughts. However as promised to someone, not sure who but whoever you are here it is, I have udated. It is by no means the best, clearest or longest of updates but be thankful and bear in mind that all great writers work better if they have certain encouragements... hint reveiws, so read away and get clicking.

Woo and thank you for all the past reveiws. Enjoy!

* * *

It felt good. Not like the normal kind of good you get when something happens because to Robert Langdon all of that was insignificant. Or at least it was since his finger had tightened on the trigger, as he'd pulled it; felt the kick as the .22 mm bullet began its spinning journey only to be stopped as it plunged itself through his thick skull. And yet it still felt good.

It hadn't yet occurred to Robert Langdon that he really shouldn't be feeling good right now because right now he should be dead. Instead he was laughing, he didn't know why he was laughing, that was another thing which hadn't yet occurred to him to think about but he was.

And then he realised that it wasn't just him laughing, everyone else in the room was laughing too and in realising that he also noticed that he wasn't alone. There were four other people in the room with him; the first a rather pompous man, two very large thugs holding equally large guns; and the final person…

Now this one was really bothering Robert because he knew who it was, or at least he knew that he should know who it was. He kept his eyes on her, looking at her perfect figure and those eyes so full of emotion. He had loved this woman, maybe he still did if he could still feel anything other than just good. He remembered now, her name was Sophie, and he did love her, enough to want to marry her. But he hadn't asked her yet, why not?

Another image flashed into his vision. It was of her, eyes rolled up into the top of her head, lifeless eyes, and the blood still pouring from the bullet wound at her temple. She was dead.

But how could she be stood here in front of him now?

Robert was beginning to feel less and less good by the second. Things which had once been clear to him began to blur again. The pictures began to move away from him until they buzzed in the distance, just out of reach, taunting him. Just like the faces, they were taunting him too. Laughing, laughing at him…

Robert only knew one thing for certain. This wasn't death; this wasn't what someone who had just shot themselves should feel. Someone who had just shot themselves shouldn't be feeling at all. Something was going on, but what was for sure was that whatever he thought Robert had not just shot himself.

Right now Robert Langdon was very much alive, however that could change quite dramatically in the very near future…


End file.
